How complicated is Chinese language?
It is NOT that difficult. Most people who say that have NEVER studied the language. They just hear about the tones and know that Chinese has its own writing system composed of thousands of characters and immediately assume that it is hard as hell. As a Chinese student, I assure you it is not. Tones are not that hard to get. I freaked out about them at first, but I was able to pick them up after about a week (3 classes) and I was one of the slower ones at picking it up. Also, I agree that people who say that using the wrong tone will cause a word to mean something completely different and list that as a reason why Chinese is difficult do not know what they’re talking about. Yes, that’s true, but it’s not really a big deal. Why? Because Chinese is a contextual language. Even if you mispronounce something Chinese people will usually know what you mean from the context. There are so many regional dialects and foreigners and such in China that many in China do not speak with perfect tones.
